Top tips to maximise your voice

An interview candidate is alone and so must consider their vocal as a key element to success, alongside other obvious planning for an interview; researching the interviewer, the job role itself, culture and the business itself.  They must be heard and be seen.  There are fundamentals that should be explored for any job interview and basic principles implemented for success.  Professional voice coach CeCe Sammy-Lightfoot [pictured above], who has coached the likes of Diana Ross and Sting, offers simple tips on maximising the qualities the voice can express in this type of a setting.

1. Focus on your posture allowing your freedom for your voice: Pretend there is a string going from the base of your spine through the top of your head that is pulling up. Be aware of this string and how tall it is. If you start slouching, the string will become very floppy but you need to keep it tight. By imagining this, it may help you to keep your posture upright and tall which in turn will help your voice sound confident, despite the nerves.

2. Controlling the voice in a heightened pressured state: Find the middle range of your voice by doing “the descent exercise”. A “descent exercise” would help to feel how the high voice could naturally transfer into the chest area. This “chest area” voice will help the person to speak clearly and not to speak too fast or too high. It would project a greater sense of calm and control.

3. Make your entrance: Film yourself and looking back at how you walked into the room. As you look at what you have filmed, look at your shoulders to see if you are slouching and remember to smile.

4. Your interview is a performance, fine tune the key deliverables: As you film yourself, say in one sentence “who you are”, “what you do” and “why you are good for this job”. Do not get distracted. Those are your key points. It is also very helpful to create an “edited” version of what you will say in an interview. I would not suggest scripting what you want to say as that can sound unnatural and prevent you expressing your personality, but it is helpful to be clear in advance about the key points you want to convey.

5. Embrace you, project the best version of yourself: In your interview, you need the interviewer to remember you above the other people that have been seen. The impression you want to leave with an interviewer is going to depend on the role you are going for. But some things remain the same whatever that role may be. You want to show the best version of yourself – be authentic, project confidence and competence.

Always excel at the basics.  Use the voice to project your worth for the job, ensure its used to its highest potential.

*CeCe Sammy-Lightfoot has created a short and free Hack Your Voice Masterclass to support interviews, during which she share’s some of the key lessons she has learned as a professional vocal coach. More information here. 

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